Johnson Matthey confident

Materials technology company Johnson Matthey - which has a sales office in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter - gave a bullish assessment of its prospects as it posted a four per cent rise in annual profits.

Materials technology company Johnson Matthey - which has a sales office in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter - gave a bullish assessment of its prospects as it posted a four per cent rise in annual profits.

The company, which focuses on catalysts, precious metals and speciality chemicals, saw analysts welcome the results.

The market also cheered comments from chief executive Neil Carson after he described the outlook for the next few years as "good", with additional revenues due from diesel emission control products and pharmaceutical sales.

The firm, which started life as a gold assayer in London in the early 19th century, uses platinum to make catalytic converters. It also uses the precious metal to make drugs, and colours and glazes for glass, tiles and fine china.

Johnson Matthey said profit before tax, goodwill and exceptional items for the year ended March 31 was £204 million, up four per cent from last year.

"There's no surprise with the numbers, but the outlook statement is broadly good," said Peter Cartwright, analyst at broker Williams de Broe.

Johnson Matthey said in March that earnings would be in line with analysts' expectations.